Description:
<jats:p>The forty-first book of Nonnus' <jats:italic>Dionysiaca</jats:italic> takes as its central theme Beroë, the sea nymph identified with the city of Beirut in Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon). Nonnus associates Beroë closely with Amymone. She is pursued sexually by both Dionysus and Poseidon, with the latter proving victorious, a story which Nonnus recounts in the next book of his poem. In Book 41, however, the narrative focuses upon the foundation of the city and Beroë’s birth. Nonnus initially dwells on Beirut's geographical setting and its first inhabitants, before turning to the birth of Aphrodite, who is said to arrive first at Beirut, not Cythera or Cyprus as in other accounts (Nonnus, <jats:italic>Dion.</jats:italic> 41.97–119).</jats:p>